Volkswagen was established in 1937 by the German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront) in Berlin, in order to mass-produce a low-priced “people’s car (the Beetle): a car affordable and practical enough for common people to own.
Deutsche Arbeitsfront was the labour organisation under the Nazi Party which replaced the various independent trade unions in Germany during Adolf Hitler's rise to power.
The Austrian automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche, who was responsible for the original design of the Beetle, was hired by the German Labour Front in 1934, and ground was broken for a new factory in the state of Lower Saxony in 1938.
The outbreak of World War II in 1939 occurred before mass production could begin, and the factory was repurposed to produce military equipment and vehicles. Volkwagen’s military involvement made its factory a target for Allied bombers, and by the end of the war the factory was in ruins.
It was rebuilt under British supervision, and mass production of the Volkswagen began in 1946. Control of the company was transferred in 1949 to the West German government and the state of Lower Saxony. By that time, more than half of the passenger cars produced in the country were Volkswagens.
Vucea on May 28th, 2021 at 04:40 UTC »
Volkswagen was established in 1937 by the German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront) in Berlin, in order to mass-produce a low-priced “people’s car (the Beetle): a car affordable and practical enough for common people to own.
Deutsche Arbeitsfront was the labour organisation under the Nazi Party which replaced the various independent trade unions in Germany during Adolf Hitler's rise to power.
The Austrian automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche, who was responsible for the original design of the Beetle, was hired by the German Labour Front in 1934, and ground was broken for a new factory in the state of Lower Saxony in 1938.
The outbreak of World War II in 1939 occurred before mass production could begin, and the factory was repurposed to produce military equipment and vehicles. Volkwagen’s military involvement made its factory a target for Allied bombers, and by the end of the war the factory was in ruins.
It was rebuilt under British supervision, and mass production of the Volkswagen began in 1946. Control of the company was transferred in 1949 to the West German government and the state of Lower Saxony. By that time, more than half of the passenger cars produced in the country were Volkswagens.
capcaunul on May 28th, 2021 at 06:21 UTC »
Had no idea the first logo was so...grounded in its times & society.
sboxtf on May 28th, 2021 at 06:56 UTC »
TIL VW has a new logo